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Beaufort committee begins review of health curriculum, cites state law updates
Summary
Committee members reviewed state-adopted health education resources (The Great Body Shop; McGraw Hill/Glencoe), discussed alignment to national and South Carolina standards, and were briefed on AR IS 17 and recent statutory updates including Aaron's Law and a cited 'Gavin's Law' update in March 2024.
Committee liaison Melissa Boat presented an overview of Administrative Regulation IS 17 and the state Comprehensive Health Act at the July 29 meeting, walking members through statutory citations and the district’s role in selecting or adapting instructional materials.
Boat told the panel that local boards may use instructional units made available by the state pursuant to sections cited in the packet (noted in the transcript as 593220 and 593230) or develop their own materials for reproductive health, family life education and pregnancy prevention. She emphasized legal limits in the law — for example, instruction on methods of contraception should not be explained before sixth grade, per the guidance in the materials she reviewed.
Boat highlighted that the district updated its health education administrative regulation in March 2024 to reflect Aaron’s Law (passed in 2016, which requires annual instruction on abuse prevention) and a more recent measure the transcript refers to as 'Gavin's Law' (cited in the packet as H 3583). She said the district has posted details on its website under the family section and included the changes in the AR packet shared with members.
On instructional materials, Boat identified The Great Body Shop for elementary grades and McGraw Hill/Glencoe teen health series for middle and high school. She demonstrated how the district uses Rubicon Atlas to align lessons to national and state standards and to present teachers with unit objectives, clarifying statements and embedded assessments.
Members gave initial reactions: several praised the range of graphics and organization, others said the material is dense and may repeat topics across grade bands, and multiple members asked that staff distribute specific sections ahead of the next meeting so members can provide substantive feedback. Boat and staff committed to sending materials by email and to offering online access to resources.
The committee will continue the detailed review at its next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 19 at 5:00 p.m.; members asked that staff provide assigned sections and statute text at least 10–14 days in advance to allow adequate review time.
Direct quote from the presentation: "This is what teachers actually see," Boat said while describing the Rubicon Atlas view for unit planning.
The committee did not adopt curricular changes at this meeting; it conducted an orientation and initial review and set tasks and timelines for further deliberation.
